


Orders of the Heart

by elemie89



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, Military Backstory, Praise Kink, Rated E for Eventually, rey has a praise kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 17:02:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18035597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elemie89/pseuds/elemie89
Summary: Rey Jackson is a romance novelist who's last book flopped. Her editor, Leia Organa insists on bringing in her son, Ben Solo as a consultant for her newest venture. This can only lead to disaster and hilarity.AND/ ORa Reylo AU of the Hallmark Channel movie "All For Love".





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello everyone and welcome to my latest venture. It's not a secret to those who know me in the fandom that I'm obsessed with the Hallmark Channel, so I had to give my favorite Hallmark movie, "All For Love", the Reylo treatment. 
> 
> Thank you to [JenfysNest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenfysNest) for the beta. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Colin moves stealthily toward the waiting helipad. The fear rising in his heart is mixed with hope. Hope of seeing  _ her _ again. The only love he’s ever known. The only love he ever  _ wants  _ to know. His heart is pounding with each step he takes as renewed hope springs up in his heart. _

 

Rey put her hands by her side and sighed.  _ Damn,  _ she thought,  _ where did that come from? That deserves a glass of Moscato. Hell, I’ve edited and added around two thousand words today  _ **_and_ ** _ it’s Friday night, that deserves  _ **_two_ ** _ glasses.  _

 

She placed her laptop down on her couch and made her way to the fridge. As she was pulling the wine bottle out, she heard the familiar chime of her e-mail alert sound from her computer. She sauntered over to it and pulled up her inbox. She brought her laptop into her kitchen and placed it on the countertop. It was an e-mail from her editor, Leia Organa-Solo. This had now turned into a  _ three  _ glass night. She opened the email: 

 

_ To: Rey Jackson <r.jackson _ _ @rebelpub.com _ _ > _

 

_ From: Leia Organa-Solo < _ _ l.solo@rebelpub.com _ _ > _

 

_ Subject: Romance Bootcamp Status Meeting _

 

_ Miss Jackson,  _

 

_ I’ve reviewed the initial manuscript for  _ Romance Bootcamp _ and would like to further discuss several edits with you. Please reply to this e-mail with a time most convenient for you to discuss this in person. Thank you.  _

 

_ Regards, _

 

_ Leia Organa-Solo  _

_ Editing, Publishing and Distribution _

_ Rebellion Publishing _

 

_ This is not good _ , Rey told herself as she poured a glass of wine.  _ Ugh I knew it,  _ she groused internally.  _ The first draft sucks _ , she said realizing her worst fears about her manuscript were probably true. She pulled up her calendar and replied to her editor. She decided Monday at nine in the morning was probably the best time. Rip the band-aid off quick and not prolong the pain. The meeting was set and Rey hoped for the best, but expected the worst. 

 

***

 

Monday morning arrived whether Rey wanted it to or not. She stopped at a coffee shop close to her publisher’s building before the meeting and purchased some tea. As she walked out of the coffee shop, she got a call from her best friend, Rose. 

 

“Hey, Rose! I can’t talk long, I’m about to go into a meeting with my editor,” she answered. 

 

“Oh!” Rose said. “What about?” 

 

“I don’t know, but I imagine it’s to tear into my manuscript,” Rey groaned. 

 

“Oh come on!” Rose encouraged. “You’re an amazing writer and you said it yourself, you were in the groove editing and revising Friday night.” 

 

“Until I got dragged into this meeting,” Rey wrinkled her nose. “I’m still on thin ice after  _ Doctor Love _ .” 

 

“I still cringe every time you say the title, you know,” Rose laughed. 

 

“You’re not the only one,” Rey laughed with her friend. She moved to take a sip of of her tea and stepped into the crosswalk to cross the street. 

 

No sooner had she taken a step off the sidewalk, she felt herself getting pulled back on to the curb. She found herself getting pulled into the hard body of a stranger, spilling some of her tea on the front of her dress in the process. 

 

“Oh bloody hell!” she yelled, wiping off the excess liquid from her dress. “What was that about asshole?” 

 

The man scoffed. “Did you not see the cyclist about to knock you on your ass or were you too engrossed in your conversation?” 

 

“What cyclist?” Rey furrowed her brow. 

 

“Exactly. You weren’t paying attention,” the stranger spat back. 

 

“Whatever,” she muttered, walking away. She didn’t have time to debate this with some asshat who made her spill her tea.

 

“You’re welcome!” the stranger called after her. 

 

Minutes later she was sitting across from her editor, waiting for the inevitable firing squad. Leia Organa-Solo was small in stature, but what she lacked in height she more than made up for with her commanding presence in every room she was in. Today was no exception. Her hazel eyes were boring in to Rey’s soul (or so it seemed), her hands were folded on her desk, and Rey was just waiting for the inevitable criticisms of her work to come out of her pursed lips. 

 

“Rey, I’m going to be absolutely blunt with you,” she began. 

 

Rey nodded. “Please do.” 

 

She really wished Leia  _ wouldn’t  _ be blunt, but she remembered back to the most important piece of advice she’d received at a writer’s convention when she first began. That was, to always be teachable. 

 

“Rey, did you  _ actually  _ do any research for this?” Leia questioned. 

 

Rey nodded in response, which was met with a quirked eyebrow from Leia. 

 

“I did,” she squeaked out. 

 

Leia pursed her lips and sighed. “Okay, Rey. I believe you, but with your manuscript as it stands, you’re going to have a hard time convincing the general public. Especially after  _ Doctor Love _ .” 

 

Rey closed her eyes and cringed internally. She’d unfortunately read all the criticisms of  _ Doctor Love _ , in spite of Leia’s warnings. People who read her earlier books said it seemed as if  _ Doctor Love  _ had been by a different author.

 

In a way, it had. Rey, in a sense became a different author in the midst of writing  _ Doctor Love _ . Her first three books, she was in a comfortable relationship and thought she had love all figured out. It didn’t matter if the relationship was a bit one-sided (okay, maybe a lot one-sided upon post-mortem analysis), she could live out her fantasies with her characters. It was a perfect system. 

 

It  _ was _ perfect until she caught her ex making out with another woman. From then on, things seemed to careen out of control. She finished her book and her agent, Unkar Plutt, insisted on pushing it out too quickly, despite Rey’s objections. In the end, Rey was right, the book wasn’t ready. It was panned by critics, saying the characters were too flat and the romance was shallow, leading to the inevitable headlines asking if Rey was just a flash in the pan. Readers in online forums drove eighteen wheelers through perceived plot holes. It was a mess. 

 

“Okay, so how do we fix this?” Rey said, opening her eyes.

 

“So, I’ve brought in a consultant,”  Leia began. “You have a lot of technical errors when you’re writing Colin’s scenes with the Marines.”

 

“How do you know that?” Rey slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized she’d said that out loud. 

 

Leia shot her a disapproving look. “My son was a Marine.” 

 

“Oh.” 

 

Leia nodded. “Retired now, but he’s the consultant I hired.” 

 

“I see.” 

 

“He’s actually in the conference room right now. Let’s go and you two can get started,” Leia said as she stood up. 

 

Rey nodded and followed her editor. Rey wished she’d had this type of support while writing her last novel.  _ Maybe I wouldn’t be in this predicament _ , she mused. However, once she reached the conference room, all of the thankful feelings she had vanished when she saw the consultant. 

 

“Oh fuck me,” she muttered. 

 

“Begging your pardon?” Leia asked. 

 

“Nothing,” Rey blurted out. 

 

The consultant was none other than the asshole who’d made her spill her tea on her dress less than an hour prior.  _ Just my luck _ , Rey groaned,  _ of course this idiot is my editor’s son _ . Leia’s son smirked seeing Rey’s face.

 

“Ben Solo,” he said, rising to shake Rey’s hand. “Nice to see you again.” 

 

“Wait,” Leia paused as Rey returned his gesture. “You two know each other?”

 

“We’ve met,” Ben replied. 

 

“Briefly,” Rey clarified. 

 

“Alright,” Leia said dubiously, looking between the pair. “I’ll leave you to it.” 

 

An uncomfortable silence stretched between the pair for a few seconds (minutes?) before Rey bit her lip and broke it. “So...guess we should get started?” 

 

Ben nodded and extended a hand toward a chair at the conference table. “Please.” 

 

Rey took a seat at the table and smoothed out her skirt. She hadn’t really gotten a good look at him while she was on the street earlier, so she took the opportunity now while he was reading a few pages of her manuscript. Before he sat down, Rey noted he stood over six feet tall — about half a foot taller than Rey. His raven hair was slicked back slightly and rested just above his shoulders. The more she stared, the more she noticed about him — like the freckles on his face she was currently mesmerized by. In fact, Rey was mesmerized by his entire face, if she was being honest. Her editors son wasn’t classically handsome, but there was something about him that drew Rey in. All of this made Rey a bit uncomfortable. 

 

“So,” Rey began. “Did you read it?” 

 

“I did,” Ben nodded. “It’s...uh...interesting to say the least.” 

 

“In...a good way?” Rey asked with a quirked brow. Rey peeked at the pages as Ben flipped through the manuscript.  _ That would be a no _ , Rey thought,  _ so much yellow highlighter _ . 

 

“I’ve made a few notations,” Ben said, looking up from the pages. 

 

“I see,” Rey nodded. “So, I’ll just make your corrections and we’ll be okay?” 

 

“Not so fast.” Ben smirked and slid a business card across the table. “My mom also recommended that you come to this.” 

 

Rey picked up the business card. “ ‘A Bootcamp employing methods used by SEALs, Marines, and Navy…” 

 

“If you want to know what makes a Marine tick, you gotta train like them,” Ben shrugged. 

 

“Wait, Leia actually wants me to do this?” Rey nearly squeaked out. 

 

Ben nodded. “Be there tomorrow. Six am.” 

 

Rey scoffed. “Yes, sir.”

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone! A few notes before diving it: the chapter count is set, subject to change at the authors discretion. Also, I won't be sticking to the plot of the movie 100%, so you don't have to have seen the movie at all! 
> 
> Again, thanks to JenfysNest for beta'ing this fluffy tropefest! 
> 
> Now, let's go...

To say that Rey’s first day of training at boot camp had been a disaster would be putting it mildly. It probably would have gone better if she’d set the whole camp on fire, but she wasn’t that lucky. Rey arrived at the ungodly hour of six am and met Ben and Phillipa Phasma, a former member of the Royal Marines who was Ben’s co-instructor at the bootcamp.  The whole set-up seemed innocent enough. Ben’s boot camp was a six-week course open to the general public. The online reviews Rey read described it as Crossfit gone military on steroids—but it was worse in person.

 

The ten minute run they started off with wasn’t completely terrible. Rey was used to running three times a week with Rose. The push-ups, crunches and pull-ups they were required to do were worse, but what really did it for Rey was the obstacle course and being divided up into teams. 

 

Rey wasn’t used to that. As she was placed on the Omega Squad ( _ Omega Squad _ , Rey scoffed as Ben told her to go stand with them,  _ who the hell comes up with these names? _ ), Rey knew she wasn’t going to like this. She had done most everything in her life alone up to this point. Sure, she had her friends, but most everything big in her life she’d done in her life—writing her books, establishing her career—she’d done all by herself. She always pulled herself up by her bootstraps and that was that. Relying on other people was just a recipe for disaster in Rey’s opinion. This was only confirmed when it was time for the team challenges. 

 

“Alright. Listen up,” Ben barked as the participants were standing at attention. “You’re divided into teams—Alpha and Omega. At the end of every session, we’ll go head to head in a little friendly competition. Whichever team wins gets a little prize at the end of the six weeks.” 

 

“Oh! We should get ‘Omega Squad’ t-shirts!” the woman standing next to Rey said a tad too enthusiastically. 

 

Rey offered her a fake smile. This was  _ not  _ what she had signed up for. The challenge was a disaster. They completed the obstacle course last, much to the disappointment of the entire Omega team. 

 

The next session was Thursday. Rey spent the entirety of Wednesday on her sofa with every muscle in her body aching. When Rey’s alarm sounded at four a.m. Thursday, every muscle in her body screamed in protest as she raised her hand to shut off the alarm.  _ Ugh, so much nope _ , she thought as her body proved Newton’s First Law of Motion—a body at rest, tends to stay at rest. There would be no outside forces extracting Rey from her bed and she figured there was no harm in skipping a session. It wasn’t school, it was just research for her novel, she rationalized as she turned over in bed and drifted back off to sleep. 

 

Rose had promised to check in on Rey that day after hearing how pitiful she sounded on the phone the day before. She arrived a little after ten as Rey was in the middle of typing a paragraph. 

 

“Oooh! I’m intrigued. Can I read what you wrote?” Rose asked, nearly sprinting over to Rey’s laptop as Rey hobbled behind her. 

 

“Sure, take a peek,” Rey winced. 

 

“Oh! We’re seeing what Colin is doing after he’s separated from his battalion,” Rose cried enthusiastically.

 

Her enthusiasm was infectious and Rey had to smile. Even though Rey mainly worked in solitude while writing, Rose was forever supportive—always ensuring Rey was well-caffeinated and left the house occasionally while she wrote. Despite her recent writers woes, Rose loved Rey’s characters and always cried as they rode off into the sunset for their happily ever after. 

 

As Rose perused the pages, Rey’s doorbell rang. 

 

“Were you expecting anyone else besides me?” Rose furrowed her brow. 

 

Rey shook her head and slowly made her way to the front door. She groaned when she saw it was Mister Drill Sergeant himself, Ben Solo. 

 

“No, sorry, we don’t want any,” Rey said as soon as she opened the door. 

 

“Cute,” Ben scoffed. “Where were you this morning?” 

 

“Seriously?” Rey groaned, waving Ben into the house. “I am in so much pain right now, you couldn’t possibly have expected me to show up this morning.”

 

“Motion is good for the body when it’s sore,” Ben said, walking in the entranceway of Rey’s apartment. 

 

“Not today,” Rey said, groaning. 

 

“Well,  _ today  _ Team Apha won by default because Team Omega was a man short.” 

 

Rey sighed, recalling how her teammates were excited about a potential prize. “Ugh, do they hate me now?” 

 

“I’d bring a peace offering next Tuesday morning,” Ben replied. 

 

They walked into the kitchen and Rose looked up from her reading. Rey swore she heard a tiny gasp escape from her best friend. “Rose Tico, meet the man responsible for my pain today—Ben Solo.” 

 

“Really...you?” Rose quirked an eyebrow. “I was expecting you to be...shorter…” 

 

Ben shook Rose’s hand and his eyes fell on Rey’s computer. “Working on rewrites?” 

 

Rey nodded.

 

“Actually, I just got to revising a part with Corporal Colin, so I could use your eyes,” Rey motioned to her computer. 

 

Ben probably hadn’t read more than two sentences before flicking his eyes up to Rey. “You  _ might  _ wanna revise this part about Colin hiding out in the abandoned house.” 

 

_ What trivial bullshit is he gonna nitpick at now?  _ Rey thought as she crossed her arms. “Why?” 

 

“He has a lantern. If he’s trying to stay hidden from the enemy—that’s not the brightest idea. The houses over in Iraq are not that far apart,” Ben said, clicking his tongue. 

 

Rey hung her head.  _ Great, can’t even get that little detail right,  _ she thought with a sigh. 

 

“What if,” Rose mused out loud, “he’s in the dark and trying to remember Josephine’s face? It works stylistically and it’s practical!” 

 

Rey considered this for a second. “That works.” 

 

***

 

Somehow Ben was still at Rey Jackson’s house almost three hours later, picking at the remains of the Chinese food they ordered. Rey’s friend, Rose was long gone, yet he was still here. He’d only intended to come over to ensure that Omega team wouldn’t be a woman short at the next session. However, she’d gotten him talking about his life in the Marines and he hadn’t been able to stop. 

 

Generally, he was just content to accept people’s thanks for his service and never really talked about his time serving that much. However, today his stories just flowed from him. That had never happened before. What kind of magic Rey possessed, he’d never know. 

 

“So, aside from saving the world, what else do you like to do for fun?” Rey asked, shoving the last dumpling in her mouth. 

 

“I like to travel,” he began. 

 

“I wish I had more time to travel,” Rey said wistfully. “You’ve probably seen some incredible things.” 

 

“I mainly travel for work,” Ben explained. “Doesn’t leave a lot of time for sightseeing. I’m actually headed to Australia at the end of this boot camp session to set one up there.” 

 

“Is Philippa going with you?” Rey asked. 

 

Ben laughed and shook his head. “I think her wife would kill me.” 

 

“So, you’re going to Australia alone? But what about all your big speeches about ‘you’re only as strong as your weakest link! Teamwork!’” Rey said, imitating him. 

 

“You can still work with a team and be solitary,” Ben explained. The irony of the statement was not lost on Ben. 

 

“I’m guessing that sums you up perfectly?” Rey probed. 

 

This was getting a little too close for comfort, he thought as he shifted in his chair. “I thought we were only talking about your characters.” 

 

“If you wanna know what makes a Marine tick, you gotta get inside their head,” Rey said with a quirked eyebrow, recalling Ben’s words before boot camp. 

 

Ben chuckled. “Fair enough. Truthfully, I travel and move so much because no place ever felt like home.” 

 

Ben was taken aback by this admission. He’d never said that out loud.

 

“Well, yeah, you’d actually have to stay in one place to have someplace feel like home,” Rey teased. 

 

Ben rolled his eyes and chuckled. Normally, this wasn’t something he’d laugh about, but Rey had somehow worked her magic again and made him laugh. What was she doing to him? 

 

When it was time to leave, Ben turned to Rey. “So, Tuesday morning, where will you be?” 

 

“Boot camp,” Rey said, mock saluting Ben. “Sir.” 

 

Ben chuckled and shook his head. “See you, then.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience with this update guys! Enjoy! 
> 
> As always, thanks to JenfysNest for the beta!

Rey gripped the steering wheel of her car. The clock on the dash said 5:50. It was Tuesday morning and she was early for boot camp. She told herself she needed to get a grip. She’d been in far more stressful situations than facing people she’d let down in a hardcore workout group. Deciding it was time to face the mildly disapproving looks of the Omega squad, she grabbed the cookies she’d purchased from a famous local bakery and got out of her car. 

 

“Well, well,” a woman she’d recognized from the prior class said. “She bothered to show up.” 

 

The rest of the Omega squad gathered around the other woman and glared at Rey with disapproving looks. 

 

“I brought cookies!” Rey held out the baked goods and blurted out the first thing that came to her brain. 

 

This seem to pacify the mob as their scowls softened upon seeing the treats. 

 

One of the women assembled scoffed. “I can’t eat anything with gluten in it.” 

 

“These are gluten free?” Rey offered, pointing to some cookies on the periphery. “And, I’m sorry about Thursday, guys. I won’t miss a class again.” 

 

“You promise?” the first woman questioned. 

  
  


Rey nodded and a man who was part of the Omega squad piped up and stepped forward to take the peace offering. “I think we can forgive her, right guys?”

 

The group seemed to be in agreement and accepted the baked goods. Rey saw Ben coming over to the group as this whole scene unfolded, dressed in his traditional boots, khakis and Marine t-shirt. He smirked at Rey. 

 

“What?” she chuckled as they met each other’s eye. 

 

He shook his head, laughed, and called the group to order. The session today was no less terrible, but Rey was trying. She wanted her squad to know she was at least making an effort to be a team player. This proved a difficult task when it came to the team challenge. 

 

The team challenge of the day was climbing a rope wall. However, before completing that task, each team member had to write down what they were most afraid of, stick it on the wall and then climb the wall. As people were writing, Ben prattled on about facing fears and climbing the wall was symbolic of that.  _ Well,  _ Rey mused with a Sharpie in her hand,  _ I have a few fears: dying alone, being a complete failure as a romance novelist, and swimming.  _ She looked around at her teammates who were writing stuff like “spiders”, “bats” and “snakes” and she decided writing down “swimming” was the way to go. When it was her turn, she placed her paper on the wall, and got ready to conquer her metaphorical fear. 

 

She gripped the rope, place her feet on the wall and attempted to pull herself up. It was proving a more difficult task than she had originally anticipated. The first foot of the wall was easy enough, but eventually Rey’s arm strength gave out and she slipped down. Further attempts proved even more futile. Rey was growing increasingly frustrated with herself, all the muscles in her body were screaming for relief, and she was certain her hands were going to have awful blisters on them tomorrow. 

 

She was on the verge of tears when two of her teammates came over to her. 

 

“Maybe we can boost you up?” one offered. 

 

“Yeah! You might get a little higher,” the other agreed. 

 

Rey nodded. She didn’t think it would do much good, but she decided to give it a try. Her teammates both got on one knee and offered their hands as a step ladder. Rey stepped on their waiting hands and grabbed the rope. She pulled up on the rope as they hoisted her up. To her amazement, she got higher than she ever had on her own. She pulled herself up the remaining foot. She paused at the top of the wall, straddling it for just a few moments, marveling at the achievement of herself and her teammates. Ben was looking up at her from the other side of the wall, trying to conceal a smile. Maybe there was something to be said for teamwork after all, she mused as she jumped off the top of the wall on to the huge padded mat below. 

 

After their session ended, Rey headed to Ben’s office. She was about to knock when she saw the door was open a little, so she peeked in. She got more than she bargained for. Ben’s back was to the door. He had just tossed his shirt off and was searching for a clean one. Rey’s mouth suddenly went dry and she figured she had to be hallucinating. She knew Ben took care of his body, but this was ridiculous. There was no way people looked like this in real life. Rey kept staring as the perfectly sculpted muscles on his back twitched and stretched as he moved. 

 

_ What the hell? I can’t look away,  _ Rey thought as he put his shirt back on. He started to head to the door and Rey collected herself. 

 

“Oh, Rey,” Ben said after opening the door. “What’s up?” 

 

Rey cleared her throat. “Hey, I figured I’d let you know, I sent over the Google Doc with some of the edits you suggested.” 

 

“Sounds good. I’ll take a look when I get home later,” Ben said. 

 

Rey started at him for a few more seconds. He cleared his throat. “Was that all you needed, Rey?” 

 

Rey shook her head, trying to clear her mental fog. Seeing a shirtless man had never affected her like this. What was wrong with her? 

 

“Yeah, thanks. Text me when you’re done looking it over,” offering him a weak smile. 

 

***

 

Rey paced back and forth in her living room. She had made some corrections from Ben and was feeling super confident about where the book was. Rose cleared her throat and looked up at her. 

 

“Well?” Rey asked. 

 

“So, I love all the revisions you’ve done with Colin’s story line,” Rose began. 

 

“I’m sensing a ‘but’,” Rey stopped in her tracks. 

 

“But,” Rose continued. “Colin and Jo have so much potential for angst and a beautiful reconciliation, but the tone at the end is just so...” 

 

“Cynical?” Rey offered. 

 

“Actually, yeah. Cynical,” Rose said. 

 

Rey flopped down on her couch. “I knew it. Leia’s right.”

 

“What do you mean?” Rose asked. 

 

“She thinks I’ve lost my romance mojo,” Rey said rubbing her temples. 

 

“What do you think?” Rose prodded. 

 

Rey flopped her head back on the couch. “I think I’m a romance novelist who doesn’t believe in love anymore.” 

 

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Rose said, playfully swatting Rey’s arm. 

 

“Ever since I fired Plutt and found Armitage sticking his dick where it didn’t belong, I’ve just felt blocked creatively,” Rey groaned. “I don’t see that changing any time soon.” 

 

“You never know. You might meet some guy and  _ bam _ creative block busted,” Rose smirked. 

 

“Excuse me?” Rey chuckled. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend Rose - women in STEM advocate and minor in Women’s Studies?” 

 

“Maybe your former hopeless romantic ways are rubbing off on me? I don’t know,” Rose laughed. 

 

Rey laughed as well, but was distracted by a text from her phone. It was Ben. She responded and looked up at Rose to continue their conversation. Rey opened her mouth to speak, but got cut off. 

 

“Who was that?” Rose asked with an amused expression on her face. 

 

“It was Ben. Why?” Rey asked, confused. 

 

“You were grinning when you saw who it was.” 

 

“I was not!” Rey protested.

 

“Uh huh,” Rose replied incredulously.  

 

Rose left a little while later. Her casual teasing had gotten under Rey’s skin more than she cared to admit. After dinner, which included two glasses of Rosé, she found herself on Ben Solo’s Facebook page. Some of the information she saw (which wasn’t very much) she already knew: served in the Marines until 2016, two tours in Iraq, and the son of her editor. 

 

He didn’t have many pictures posted, but Rey was clicking through them. Before long, Rey noticed a smile had crept on her face and she had closed Facebook. Inspiration struck for a scene between Colin and Jo and before she lost it, Rey began furiously typing. Rey didn’t know if it was good or not, but the words were flowing. 

 

Before Rey knew it, it was just after midnight and she had added about a thousand words. She wasn’t about to admit it, but maybe Rose was on to something. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm still writing fic, I promise! Thanks for your patience in between updates. They might not be as quick as I used to update, but please bear with me. I'm committed to finishing this fic! 
> 
> Thanks to my beta [JenfysNest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenfysNest) for going the extra mile on this chapter.

“Everything alright?” Leia asked, snapping Rey out of her concentration.

 

“Oh, yeah, fine,” Rey replied, slipping her phone in to her pocket. 

 

She’d been summoned to her editor’s office to go over yet another round of revisions. There were also going over preparations for an upcoming cocktail party and reading to be held at Leia’s house. 

 

“Do I need to be concerned about whoever you’re talking to?” Leia jokingly asked. 

 

“Huh?” Rey questioned, thoroughly confused. 

 

“You were grinning while reading that text,” Leia said matter-of-factly. 

 

_ Wait I was?  _

 

“It was just Ben,” Rey played it off, but now her mind was churning. 

 

Sure, they’d been seeing each other every week at boot camp and even a few times outside of boot camp. However, it was only for research purposes. Sure, they often spent most of the time talking about other things, but that was only after research was complete. 

 

Great, now she was involuntarily grinning when Ben was texting her. It was clearly evident to those around her, first Rose now Leia had caught her giddy smile whenever they texted. This was something to think about. 

 

“I see,” Leia said, mercifully dropping the subject and moving on to talk of the cocktail party. 

 

A few weeks later, Rey found herself at Leia’s house. Her editor told her she was inviting bloggers and critics to drum up buzz for her latest offering. She didn’t know how well thought out this idea was, given that the book was still weeks from publishing. She almost said something during the meeting where she’d been called out for grinning about Ben’s text, but she remembered she needed to be flexible. So, she dressed up and made the drive to Leia’s house. 

 

Upon pulling into the driveway (which could hardly be described as a driveway, more like a gravel parking lot with a fountain and shrubbery), the word “house” did not do this place justice. Mansion was more the appropriate word. It was fitting, Leia had worked hard for years in her profession and deserved a few spoils of war, so to speak. She got out of her car—which now seemed woefully inadequate, given the setting—and was greeted by a valet. Handing over her keys, she craned her neck slightly to see the top of her editor’s house.  

 

Looking back down to earth, she studied the opulent front door. She knew what waited behind the door for her. People who’d eviscerated her last novel and generally didn’t listen to the age-old adage of “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. This cocktail party was supposed to last about three hours and Rey was already counting down the minutes until she could run out of there and retreat to the safety of her apartment with wine and snacks. 

 

“Showtime,” she mumbled to herself, opening the door. 

 

The party was already a hive of activity when Rey entered, despite Rey arriving exactly on time.  _ Have these people never heard of being fashionably late?  _ She asked herself as she bit her lip, eyes scanning the room. She was never good with crowds, hence her choice of occupation. Also, these people didn’t exactly think she was the best at said occupation, so there was that.

 

The acid in her stomach was churning. That was the effect these people had on her.  They also evoked memories of the hours she’d spent in her former agent, Unkar Plutt’s, office listening to him read her the scathing reviews of her last novel. Despite all the positive self-talk and telling herself this was Plutt’s fault, all she could think in this moment was she had the word “Failure” plastered on her forehead. Added to it was Plutt’s ever present voice in the back of her mind telling her she was nothing and no one without him as her agent.  _ I made you _ , he would constantly remind her. It stung more than Rey cared to admit. 

 

She loved being a writer. She’d even left an IT job at a bank to focus on writing full-time after her second novel had taken off. Looking around, she could almost see the words each critic had written, as easily as if she’d read them no more than five minutes ago. The wounds were beginning to open anew. The air was beginning to leave the room and Rey felt the fringes of a panic attack starting. Breathing was proving to be a difficult. She was about ready to bolt for the door and just pretend she never even showed up when her eyes fell on Ben. 

 

Suddenly, the air returned with a rush. If Rey’s mind was a tad clearer, she might have thought it strange that he had a soothing effect on her. She might have remarked that this was a new sensation and that no one by their mere presence had been able to do that. They caught each other’s eye from across the room. He gave her a warm smile and Rey swore internally when her heart skipped a beat. They moved toward each other as if pulled in by some magnetic force neither could fight. 

 

“Didn’t know you were going to be here,” Rey stated. 

 

“My mom said it might be a good idea,” Ben replied casually.

 

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Rey smiled as she grabbed a flute of champagne from an offering waiter. 

 

“Missed me that much, huh?” Ben teased. 

 

“No,” Rey rolled her eyes. “I need someone to fight off these bloggers for me.” 

 

“Maybe you should have put ‘People who write mean things on the internet’ as your fear on the wall,” Ben said. 

 

Rey shook her head and laughed, attempting to cover up how much his words hit the mark. She decided to forgive him that remark. He didn’t know. “Very funny. Seriously, thank you for coming.” 

 

Ben smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

 

“Rey! There you are!” Leia’s voice cut through the crowd as she approached them. 

 

Rey cleared her throat. “Hi, Leia. Lovely shindig so far.” 

 

“Good! There’s a few people I wanted you to talk to before you started your reading. Can I steal her from you, son?” she turned her head to Ben.

 

Ben shrugged with a smirk. “Sure.” 

 

Leia waved him off. “I don’t know why I just asked you that. I’m her boss, after all.”

 

Leia practically dragged Rey across the room toward a group of assembled reviewers. She made nice for them, with Leia by her side. She kept stealing glances at Ben, not knowing why she was doing it. 

 

Rey’s mind was now clearer and she was able to devote some brain power toward figuring out why the man known as Ben Solo has such an effect on her. No one had ever had that sort of power over her. The realization scared Rey a bit. She’d never needed anyone and that wasn’t about to change anytime soon. 

 

People let her down and left in the past, so no—giving a person that much power over her was just a recipe for disaster.  True, he’d been kind and patient with her, even answering a technical question for her novel at two in the morning. However, Rey rationalized that he was just being nice and following his mothers orders. So, Rey pushed all that down. She attempted to focus on the task at hand, not at all on why Ben had affected her like that, and not about  _ why  _ she would even entertain the idea of letting him in. 

 

Leia had impeccable time as always and just as Rey was trying to rein in her errant thoughts, her editor informed her it was time to begin the reading. Rey was happy for this in a sort of twisted way. She could handle professional anxiety. Personal anxiety, however, was something Rey didn’t even want to think about right now. 

 

Rey made her way to the middle of Leia’s living room. The elder woman said a few welcoming words and turned the floor over to Rey. She drew in a deep breath, preparing for the public flogging that followed. Her eyes fell to her tablet where her snippet was and she began reading. 

 

_ He realizes everything as he stares at her picture. She is the oxygen he didn’t even realize he needed. He had been able to deny the truth of his feelings for Jo thus far, but he is unable to do that any longer. The lone wolf lifestyle would no longer be enough for him. All his thoughts become consumed with getting back to her. He decides then and there he’ll deal with the consequences of being so callous with her heart. Like oxygen, he needs her.  _

 

Rey read a few more paragraphs where she reached a natural stopping point in her narrative. She prepared for silence and glum looks as she picked her head up. Instead, she was met with expressions of rapt attention and some scattered applause. 

 

_ Wait. What? They liked that?  _

 

Rey looked around and her chest filled up with pride. Maybe, just maybe Plutt was wrong—she could do this and she wasn’t a failure after all. 

 

***

 

_ She is the oxygen he didn’t even realize he needed.  _

 

Those words struck deep into Ben’s soul. They unnerved him. Almost as if Rey could see into his mind, but he quickly dismissed the idea out of hand as ridiculous. So what was it? 

 

That’s when the realization hit him. Rey had worked her way into his heart. It had happened slowly, gradually and without Ben even realizing it. She made him  _ want  _ to stay. She made him want to be anchored to someone. For the first time in—well, forever—Ben wanted to be tethered to someone. He’d never felt this way about anyone. He thought he would be a confirmed world-traveling bachelor for the rest of his days. Now Rey was here, tilting his whole world on its axis. 

 

He didn’t know when he’d turned in to this man—a sappy person, eating up the words of a romance novel, but that was just the effect that Rey Jackson had on him. Her words bored into his soul as if she’d been reading his mind. He shifted in his spot, never taking his eyes off her. He closed his eyes and sighed. He was so gone for this girl. He was wholly entranced and transfixed. He was wholly fucked. 

 

Just as his inner monologue drew to a close, Rey had finished her reading. All gathered applauded, breaking Ben out of his amorous thoughts. He had noted that Rey was picking her nails while talking to critics beforehand—

 

_ Get a grip _ , he chided himself,  _ you barely know this girl.  _ Ben knew once he traveled down this particular rabbit hole, he wouldn’t be able to pull himself out. The sudden high of his revelation was tempered by remembering that he would soon me millions of miles away from Rey in Australia. 

 

Being separated for six weeks or longer wasn’t an ideal start for a relationship by any stretch of the imagination. Relationship, his stomach flipped at the word as he stuffed a cupcake in his mouth. The rose colored-glasses he’d been wearing earlier were now completely off and harsh reality was setting in. He barely knew Rey, he shouldn’t be thinking about things like relationships and making plans for the future with a woman he’d met less than two months ago. 

 

However as he mingled with his mother’s friends, he had a hard time keeping his eyes off Rey. As he snuck glances and tried to memorize the way her black dress hugged her soft curves, he knew his earlier assessment of his situation was correct—yep, still fucked. 

 

Ben knew he had to to hide this, shove it down, do whatever it took to conceal this. It was only two weeks before he boarded a plane to Australia. He could do this. He’d been unattached for this long, so why the sudden need to start now? He could do this. 

 

The party had begun to die down, people were trickling out, and Ben figured it was time leave as well. He headed out and gave the valet his ticket and to his surprise, Rey was waiting for her car as well. 

 

“Leaving so soon?” He stepped closer to her. 

 

Rey scoffed. “I could ask you the same. Did you not see me in there? I was on fire. I converted some of my harshest critics into fans...and now...I’m exhausted.” 

 

Ben chuckled. “Fair enough.” 

 

A silence stretched between them as they waited. 

 

“Ben?” Rey asked as she stepped closer toward him. 

 

Ben hummed in answer, trying his best to play cool and not reveal how much her proximity affected him. 

 

“I meant what I said earlier. It meant a lot to have you in there,” she said, turning to face him. 

 

She extended her arms to give him a hug. Ben realized if he’s still going to give off the air that nothing has seismically shifted between them, he’d better hug Rey. He pulled her in—maybe a little too close and rests his chin on the top of her head. 

 

Ben swore to everything that was holy that he was trying to be good and do the right thing by Rey by not letting his thoughts wander. The universe, however, had other plans for him. Rey sighed almost imperceptibility against his chest and...yep, fucked. 

 

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask), Rey broke away first. Ben was relieved at this because that meant he didn’t have to be rude and push her away. He rubbed her shoulders and they regarded each other with a smile as Rey’s car was brought around. 

 

She walked away from him and a spark of insanity ignited within him. 

 

“Rey?” He called, before his brain could catch up. 

 

“Yeah?” She answered, opening her car door. 

 

_ Australia, _ his brain supplied, before his heart made him say something stupid. “See you on Tuesday.” 

 

She let out a slight chuckle. “See you Tuesday, Ben.” 

 

He didn’t realize his gaze lingered a little too long until the familiar voice of his mother brought him out of his thoughts. 

 

“Leaving without saying goodbye, son?” 

 

“Sorry,” he said a bit too sheepishly. 

 

Leia quirked an eyebrow. “Something I need to know about you and my best-selling author?” 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ben lied. She must have been silently observing their interaction. 

 

Leia nodded. “I see. Dinner reservations are at six tomorrow. Don’t be late.” 

 

Ben mockingly saluted. “Yes ma’am.” 

 

Leia rolled her eyes and patted his face. “See you then.” 

  
He groaned. He must be obvious. His mother saw right through him _. Yup. Fucked.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)...come say hi!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and welcome back to another chapter. These next few chapters contain my favorite scenes from the movie I'm adapting this from and I'm so excited to share this all with you. 
> 
> As always a massive thank you to JenfysNest for the insanely quick turn around. Love you <3

Nearly a week later, Rey was still trying to pretend it meant nothing that she lit up every time Ben texted her. Rey had magically finished her novel. It was now being proofread for final edits with the first copies ready for printing in about six weeks. Rey was beginning to wonder if the timeline her publishing company had set for this project was a little ambitious, but Leia wanted to capitalize on the feedback from the cocktail party—which was overwhelmingly positive.

 

After dropping off her manuscript, Leia called Rey up to her office to discuss details of shooting the cover for the novel. Leia had set everything up for just a few days from then at her house. A highly sought-after photographer and model were booked. Leia was sparing no expense and she wanted Rey there to help oversee everything. Rey was thankful her editor trusted her to help make these decisions. Plutt had effectively shut her out of this part of the process. It was a welcome change. 

 

Rey arrived at Leia’s house and was ushered to the backyard by her assistant. The photographer was taking a few test shots of the scenery. From the pictures of the model Rey had seen, they had done a decent job of matching her description, but she couldn’t help but think that the idea of Colin she had in her head looked a little more like…

 

“Ben!” Leia called out as he joined them by the back door. 

 

Rey involuntarily looked him up and down as he stood there, holding a coffee mug in a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants. Rey was quite taken aback by his choice of attire for a minute ( _ only  _ because he was so informally dressed, Rey told herself), but she remembered he’d moved in with Leia after vacating his rental in preparation to move to Australia. That quickly sobered her thoughts and took her mind off those grey sweatpants. 

 

Rey cleared her throat. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” 

 

Ben nodded toward the photo shoot. “Just wanted to get a look at whatever version of Fabio was gracing the cover of this novel I helped with.” 

 

Leia shook her head and smiled. “Well...um...he’s...actually, I don’t see him. Where’s our tall, dark, and sexy Marine, Annie?”

 

The photographer shrugged and pulled her phone from her back pocket. Her eyes widened as she read the contents of her phone screen. “Fuck. We have a problem guys.” 

 

Leia furrowed her brow as the photographer walked closer. “Problem? That’s not a word I want to hear, Annie.” 

 

Annie sighed. “The model’s agent  _ just _ e-mailed me twenty minutes ago saying his flight got delayed in Europe last night and he won’t be here.” 

 

Rey narrowed her eyes. “You can’t be serious.” 

 

“Wish I was,” the photographer replied. “I’ll give you an hour to sort this out or we’ll have to reschedule, but only because I like you, Leia.”

 

Leia smirked as Annie walked away. Once the other woman was out of earshot, she sighed as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is a disaster. This throws off our entire timeline.”  

 

“Can we find another model to fill in?” Rey offered. 

 

Leia appeared to consider this idea. “We can try, but no guarantees we can get someone out that fast.” 

 

Rey pursed her lips and looked around the backyard as if something in the landscape would cause inspiration to hit her. She glanced over at Ben quickly and  _ then _ the idea she was looking for hit her. It was crazy idea, that he would  _ surely _ say no to, but she had to try anyway. She sent up a silent prayer that Ben would just go along with this, no questions asked. 

 

“Ben, where are your dress blues?” Rey asked, as casually as possible. 

 

Ben shot her a confused look. “Why do you ask?” Rey opened her mouth to speak, but Ben realized what she was getting at before she could get the words out. “No. Absolutely not.” 

 

Leia seemed to understand Rey. “And why not?” 

 

“Me posing on the cover of a romance novel? I don’t think so,” Ben said, shaking his head. 

 

“We’d be prepared to make it worth your while,” Leia answered, quirking an eyebrow. 

 

“That could go a long way in Australia,” Rey pointed out, ignoring the pang in her heart at the last word. 

 

Ben worked his jaw for a second. Rey hoped he was considering this. “Please?” she added.

 

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine, but just make sure they don’t put too much of my face on the cover.” 

 

Rey could hardly believe that worked. Ben disappeared for a few moments while Rey and Leia talked over some design options. When he re-emerged, Rey was wholly unprepared for what she saw. 

 

She had always heard about women having a thing for a man in uniform. Rey never understood it. To her, a man in uniform was just that, a man wearing a piece of clothing required for his job. After seeing Ben step on the patio in his dress blues, Rey found herself suddenly wanting to reconsider her position on the matter. 

 

“Oh,” the sound escaped from her lips involuntarily. 

 

“Excuse me?” Leia asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

 

“Nothing,” Rey replied quickly, but the redness gathering on her cheeks was giving her away. She quickly turned her head away from the elder woman and watched Ben take his position for the photographer. 

 

If Rey was trying to appear inconspicuous about looking at Ben she was going a terrible job. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Leia was regarding her with an amused expression. Rey pursed her lips and cleared her throat. 

 

The photographer was trying to get Ben to relax and pose naturally, but the shots she got were all stiff and just would work. 

 

“He’s nervous,” Leia said with a click of her tongue. 

 

Rey sighed. “Yeah, he needs to relax.” 

 

The crew had paused in between shots and a makeup artist was fussing with the jacket of Ben’s dress blues. Rey noticed he was growing more irritated with the attention and she knew she needed to intervene. 

 

She walked over to him. “Okay, thanks guys, that’s enough fussing over the talent. He looks fine!” 

 

Rey noticed that the well-meaning photography assistants had actually succeeded in messing up his jacket. Rey sighed and smoothed out the sleeves of Ben’s jacket and offered him a smile. He returned the gesture and looked in her eyes. Rey’s smile faded as she held his gaze.

 

This somehow felt like more than just a simple touch and gaze. It felt more weighted, more charged. Rey didn’t know what to make of this. That was a lie. She’d written this scene so many times. The scene where a character could no longer deny their attraction to their love interest. Was that what was happening right now? If so, this was awfully inconvenient and just the story of Rey’s life. She never thought she would feel this way again. This  _ would  _ be how it happened. She  _ would _ begin to fall for a guy and just at the very moment she realized it, he’d be about a week away from flying halfway across the world for god knows how long. Rey swallowed a lump in her throat. 

 

If she’d been paying attention to her surroundings, she would have noticed the subtle click of the camera capturing the moment her and Ben were locked in. 

 

“Okay,” Annie’s voice rang out, breaking the moment. “We have what we need.” 

 

Rey shook her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts. She hazarded a glance at Ben as she walked back toward Leia. She noticed he looked away as quickly and she followed suit as she continued her steps. She paused for a moment, bit her lip and risked another look at him. He was staring. 

 

Did he feel the same way? Rey didn’t know which was worse, the possibility that Ben might feel the same way and being parted  _ or  _ confessing her feelings and being rejected. Neither outcome was ideal, that much was clear. 

 

Rey wanted to go home and just sit in silence. She needed to think, but the universe—and by the universe, she meant Leia—had other plans.  

 

“Rey, I need to go over just a few more things with you,” Leia said, stopping her from leaving. 

 

Rey went over to the patio table where the elder woman was standing and they finished conducting their business. She pushed her feelings down. They would just have to wait. 

 

They finally finished up around lunchtime and as luck would have it, Ben was rooting around in the kitchen when Rey left. 

 

“Hey Solo,” she called to him. “Let me buy you some lunch after putting you through all that craziness. There’s a bar not to far from here that has good food.”

 

“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a day drinker, but alright. Let’s go,” Ben said with a chuckle. 

 

They headed over to the bar. It was the weekend so it was a little more crowded than normal. After ordering their food and drinks, they took a seat in a booth. A lull formed in their conversation and Rey looked around the room. Her eyes fell on a guy and a girl chatting over at the bar. The guy was clearly trying to put the moves on the girl. Rey had to chuckle. 

 

Ben heard her giggle. “What’s so funny?” 

 

Rey nodded in the direction of the bar toward the scene she’d been observing. Ben watched for a few seconds and let out a chuckle of his own. 

 

“I kinda feel bad for the guy,” Ben started. “The girl is  _ clearly _ not into him.” 

 

Rey sighed and shook her head. “All this is doing is reminding me that after this book is released, I don’t have an excuse to not be back in the dating scene anymore.” 

“Don’t blame you,” Ben said offhand. “I remember you said you had a bad break-up. What was his damage?”

 

“Well, the cheating was a huge deal-breaker,” taking a sip of her water. 

 

“Oh, sorry,” Ben replied sheepishly. The waitress came and broke up the moment with their food and drinks. 

 

Rey shrugged. This was a first for her. Usually talking about that part of her life hurt. Now all she wanted to do was make a joke about it. What sort of effect was this man having on her? 

 

She chuckled. “It’s ok. That wasn’t even the worst part.” 

 

Ben furrowed his brow. 

 

Rey was emboldened by something and the next words she said flew out of her mouth on their own. “He didn’t even indulge my praise kink.” 

 

Ben looked confused. 

 

“All writers have a praise kink. It’s just a thing,” Rey said, taking a sip of her beer. 

 

Ben furrowed his brow. “Praise kink?” 

 

“You know,” she replied with a wave of her arm. “Like, ‘oh good girl’ or ‘I’m so proud of you’, but with sex.” 

 

Ben looked at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Oh, like in your Star Wars fan fiction,  _ Going Down on Wall Street  _ when Kylo tells Kira she’s such a good girl for taking his cock so well?” 

 

Rey choked on her drink and slammed her arm down on the table. “How did you know about that?” 

 

“You’re not the only one who can research, Jackson,” Ben answered with a quirked eyebrow, taking a sip of his beer. 

 

“Fine,” Rey rolled her eyes and wiped her face with a napkin, “but yes, like  _ that _ .”

 

Ben looked pleased with his efforts. “Reddit is a wonderful source of information. I found your old fan fiction profile on your SubReddit.” 

 

“Ah,” Rey said then shook her head. “I can’t  _ believe  _ you—mild-mannered former Marine Ben Solo— just said the word cock.” 

 

Truth be told, Rey was not shocked by Ben’s use of the word, she was actually turned on. Suddenly she was envisioning Ben saying all the words she’d written Kylo saying. A warmth that Rey thought was long dead developed deep in her stomach. She shifted in her seat as Ben chuckled at her. 

 

“You should hear what gets said in the barracks,” Ben smirked. “Also, you wrote those words, I’m merely quoting them back to you.” 

 

She laughed and shook her head. Rey tried to process all of what had transpired in that short conversation.  

 

Ben had been reading her works? He’d been looking her up online? They caught each other’s eye, Rey bit her lip and laughed. The warmth from earlier was still deep in her stomach and it terrified her. It terrified her and made her want to run home, flop herself on her bed, and flail her arms like she was some school girl with a crush. If she was a betting woman, she’d place good money on the fact Ben felt the same way. She mulled over this as they ate their food and talked. Ben insisted on paying for the meal.

 

Before they left, Ben turned to her. “So, I think I deserve a little payback for you making me model on the cover of your novel.” 

 

“Oh you do now?” Rey asked, wondering where this could be going. “Having me choke on my beer knowing you’ve read my old fan fiction wasn’t enough?” 

 

“Not even close,” Ben teased. “Teaching you how to swim, however, will settle the debt.” 

 

Rey’s smiled faded. She didn’t know whether she was gulping at the idea of swimming or seeing Ben wet in a swimsuit, but it happened. Before her brain knew what she was doing, the words, “when and where” escaped her lips. 

 

“My mom’s house. Tomorrow.” 

  
“I’ll be there,” she replied with  _ absolutely  _ no trepidation in her voice whatsoever. This would be fine. It would be  _ fine _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/em-is-writing)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [JenfysNest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenfysNest)
> 
> Ladies and gentlemen, the chapter you've been waiting for (don't lie, you *totally* have). Let the smuttening begin...

“Are you sure this can’t be more of a theoretical, classroom-type learning situation?” Rey asked hesitantly as she dipped her toe into the water. 

 

She’d barely stepped foot in Leia’s pool, but she was already ready to dash off the steps of the pool and hide in the pool house. Though she can’t tell if it’s her fear of swimming or seeing Ben in a swimsuit...and wet. 

 

She couldn’t stop staring at the water rolling off his perfectly toned chest.  _ Seriously? Is this guy for real?  _ Sucking in a breath, she put her foot on the first step, then the second and the third and the fourth until both feet were firmly on the pool floor. 

 

_ Now what?  _

 

Ben chuckled. “Okay, take a few steps to me.” 

 

Rey bit her lip. She was maybe a tad bit paralyzed with fear (okay, maybe a lot). Rey could hardly be blamed. She was facing her biggest fear (next to dying alone, and rude people on the internet) and did she mention Ben was  _ wet _ ? 

 

At that moment, Ben held out his hands to Rey. “Come on.” 

 

“Okay,” she replied, tentatively, grabbing his hands. 

 

“So, why are you afraid of swimming?” Ben questioned, taking a few steps backward. Rey followed his lead. 

 

“I just never learned how. Growing up in the foster system in England, learning normal childhood things like swimming is not on the agenda. Then it just became a thing where it was unknown and that developed into fear of the unknown…” Rey’s voice trailed off as she realized the pool chair that had been distant when she stepped in the water was now only a few feet away. “You got me to tell that story so I was distracted and you could get me deeper in the pool, didn’t you?” 

 

Ben nodded, looking rather pleased with himself. “Okay, we’re going to start by learning to float.” 

 

Rey nodded as Ben rested his hand on her back. She took a breath and laid back onto his arm. His other arm supported her legs after she lifted them up. 

 

Rey let the weightlessness of the water overtake her body. It felt quite pleasant rather than the overwhelming panic Rey thought she’d feel. She felt her body relax. Ben dropped the hand that was under her legs and the arm behind her back soon followed. 

 

Rey was getting the hang of this floating thing. She smiled up at Ben. 

 

“Good girl,” he breathed.

 

Rey looked up at him and blinked.  _ Did he really just say that? _ She didn’t have time to ponder anything. The backfire of a neighbor’s car startled her. 

 

She shrieked and threw her arms around Ben’s neck. He lost his footing for a second as Rey wrapped her legs around his torso. 

 

“Hey, I got you,” he breathed, rubbing her back.

 

As her heart rate slowed and the fog of her fear faded, she realized no space existed between her and Ben’s bodies. Their faces were inches apart, their breath speeding up, mingling in the air between them. 

 

Rey knew what she wanted—her cunt throbbed with need. She leaned forward to kiss him, but hesitated.  _ Australia _ . 

 

She sucked in a breath.  _ Fuck it _ . 

 

She closed the distance and placed her lips on his. His lips were soft and inviting—everything she dared to imagine they would be. She moved one hand behind his neck and swiped her tongue along his lips. She was a creature possessed by greed for his tongue, but she didn’t care. She needed this. 

 

The water swished around them as their tongues danced around in each other’s mouths. Suddenly, her boldness and devil-may-care attitude from mere seconds earlier disappeared. Ben was leaving and soon. He was leaving and Rey would be alone, just like she always had been. 

 

Rey couldn’t do this. She pushed Ben away and sprinted out of the pool and into the pool house. She pushed the door closed and stood in front of it, as if to barricade something from coming in. Half of her wanted Ben not to chase after her—to prove that kiss was all a mistake and they could just forget about it. The other part of her wanted Ben to run after her—fight for this—whatever it was. 

 

She had just finished catching her breath when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. 

  
  


_ *** _

 

_ Good girl _ , the words had rolled off Ben’s tongue unbidden, but he didn’t regret saying them. Not when she had kissed him like that. Ben couldn’t leave things where they ended. The distance that would inevitably separate them be damned. Ben knew this was selfish—to want more when he knew he was leaving and couldn’t give Rey everything she deserved from a man. 

 

His breath hitched as he raised his hand to knock on the door of the pool house. He could stop right now, turn around and let the memory of that searing kiss be all he had from Rey. 

 

The selfish part of him prevailed and he knocked. He had to taste her—to know her—just once.

 

The door swung open and Rey, still in her swimsuit, let out a slight gasp. In that moment, Ben sent up a silent prayer that this wasn’t all a mistake. 

 

“We shouldn’t...” Rey blurted out. 

 

“I know,” Ben answered, taking a step inside.

 

“Ben,” she breathed as he shut and locked the door. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in.

 

Rey, to Ben’s delight, slipped her hand around his neck. They stayed like that for a fraction of a second, as if Rey needed a moment to assess the situation. Her mind appeared to be made up when she pulled him in for a kiss. 

 

They rediscovered that familiar rhythm from the pool as Rey swiped her tongue along Ben’s lips. An involuntary moan left his lips as the kiss deepened. 

 

Ben’s hands slid up Rey’s back, savoring every touch of her smooth skin. One hand laced its fingers through her still wet hair. Ben knew what he wanted and any doubts about Rey’s frame of mind faded when she reached behind her back and undid a strap of her bikini. Ben undid the top one and it was quickly discarded on the floor. 

 

They backed up toward the couch. Rey laid down on the couch as Ben straddled her legs. He took a moment to drink in her beauty. If this was all they ever had, he was going to memorize everything—the way her cheeks blushed as he looked at her, every curve of her body. He would commit it all to memory. 

 

Their lips met in another kiss and Ben wondered if she was doing the same thing as she ran her slender fingers up and down the muscles of his chest. He planted kisses down her neck and Rey let out a hiss when he sucked the sensitive skin around her collarbone. It would leave a mark, but Ben didn’t care. 

 

A moan escaped his own lips as his cock brushed up against Rey’s clothed entrance. Planting a trail of kisses down Rey’s chest had brought them in very close contact. The animalistic side of Ben wanted to rip off her bathing suit bottom and take what he needed. The gentleman in him won out. Going slow and savoring his time with Rey was what they both deserved. 

 

Swirling his tongue around her nipple elicited the most sensual moan from her. Ben then made it his life’s mission to hear that noise over and over again from her. No matter how many times she did it, it would never be enough for him. 

 

He lavished her breasts with attention, continuing to use his mouth on one and swirling the pad of his thumb on the other. Ben looked up at Rey, her mouth was parted and eyes were closed in ecstasy. Her hand moved down from her forehead to under her swim bottoms. Ben grabbed her hand. 

 

“Now that’s my job, sweetheart,” he told her with a wicked grin. 

 

Her lustful haze breaks for a second and with a wicked grin of her own, she quirked her eyebrow. “You think you can handle a  _ full assault  _ on  _ two fronts _ ?” 

 

“Oh, I’m quite adept at  _ concurrent activity _ ,” he replied slipping his thumbs under the sides of her swim bottoms and discarding them on the floor. “But only if you’re a  _ good girl _ .” 

 

Rey opened her mouth to say something, but drew in a sharp breath instead as Ben moved his finger along her glistening folds. Seeing how wet she was for him already was doing nothing to keep him moving slow. 

 

He moved one of Rey’s thighs over his shoulder and parted her folds. He swiped his tongue tentatively at first, just testing the waters. His next few passes grew more hungry and ferocious. 

 

The reaction he was eliciting from Rey was everything. Her moans and mewls were urging him on as he alternated licking and sucking at her sensitive nub. Ben pulled away and hovered over Rey’s body, steadying himself with an arm on her side. Her breath grew even more ragged as he slipped a finger in her and drew in and out. 

 

She rocked her hips along with his motions. He inserted a second finger. Rey hissed and moaned at the new sensation. Ben lowered his mouth to her ear. “You’re taking my fingers so well. Good girl.” 

 

Her eyes rolled back in her head, she bit her lip and rolled her hips harder. “Fuck, Ben.” 

 

He continued his motions, hooking his fingers. 

 

“Ah, Ben,” she cried. 

 

“Tell me what you need, my good girl,” he said, not relenting with his fingers. 

 

“I need you inside me,” she managed between ragged breaths. 

 

That was enough for him. His cock was throbbing with need and desperate for release. He positioned himself at her entrance and eased in. He stilled for a moment, letting Rey adjust to him. 

 

“Fuck Rey, you feel so good. You’re taking me so well,” he whispered in her ear. 

 

He withdrew and pushed in a little further with each thrust. Rey rolled her hips to meet him. They set a rhythm together, holding each other’s gazes as they spurred each other on toward their release. 

 

Rey’s inner walls pulsed around Ben’s hard length. 

 

“Ben, I’m gonna come,” she breathed. 

 

Ben reached down and swirled the pad of his thumb over her clit. 

 

Her back arched and she moaned as she spilled her juices all over his cock. This was absolutely Ben’s undoing. As she came, a grunt came from deep inside him as he pulsed inside her. Rey rolled her hips and a litany of swears escaped Ben’s lips as he came. 

 

Ben caught his breath a bit. He pushed a lock of Rey’s wet hair out of the way and studied her contended face in the afterglow—still not knowing if this was all they had. Withdrawing from her, he placed a kiss on her forehead. He sent up a selfish silent prayer that somehow Rey could wait for him.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://em-is-writing.tumblr.com)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter guys, hang on to your butts. 
> 
> Shout out to [JenfysNest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenfysNest) for being a rockstar human and beta.

A sigh escaped Rey’s lips as she rolled over. She had to stop her arm from hitting Ben’s solid chest as she did. Staring up at the ceiling, there was one word that flashed through her mind— _ content _ . Ben’s bedroom was quiet and peaceful in the dead of night. They’d just spent hours exploring each other’s bodies and leaving no part unclaimed by the other. A beautiful night indeed. She could stay here forever. 

 

Nature had other plans. Rey managed to peel herself out of bed and sneak off to the nearest bathroom. She was all prepared to snuggle back in bed, but her eyes fell to something on the nightstand before she could. It was still dark, but she could still make out the familiar small blue booklet of a U.S. passport. Some pieces of paper were sitting underneath. 

 

Rey normally didn’t consider herself a snoop—okay, that was a total lie, Armitage had chided her a few times for being nosy, but she couldn’t help herself. She stealthily picked up Ben’s passport and read the contents of the papers. Her heart sunk as she read. It was Ben’s itinerary for Australia. He was due to arrive in the land down under in four days. 

 

Right, Australia. She’d forgotten about that tiny little detail of Ben’s life plan. In less than a week, she’d be on her own. Again. It was just her luck. She’d met a man that so perfectly filled cracks and holes in her life she didn’t even know existed, and by some cosmic joke, he’d be taken away from her. It just wasn’t fair. 

 

Rey suddenly found herself wishing Ben hadn’t knocked on the door. She found herself wishing she had the strength to send him away when he’d knocked. She was wishing a lot of things. Rey knew she couldn’t ask Ben to wait for her while he was in Australia. 

 

Rey knew how perfectly Ben fit into her life, but what if the same couldn’t be said for him? What if he was in Australia and met someone even  _ more  _ perfect for him than her? That was just utterly selfish on Rey’s part. She couldn’t ask that of him. She just couldn’t. This was where it had to end. 

 

A lump began to form in her throat. The thought of waking Ben up and breaking his heart at this ungodly hour was just something she couldn’t face. However, she couldn’t stay. Staying would weaken her resolve and make leaving him nearly impossible. 

 

Rey quietly sat on the edge of the bed and assessed her options. The only thing she could think to do was take the easy way out and just leave. Ghost him. Rey knew it was the cowards way out. She didn’t think she’d ever be the type of woman to do that, much less consider it, but here she was. It was an impossible choice. 

 

The ticking of Ben’s watch on the nightstand marked the passage of the agonizing seconds as Rey thought. She cast a glance at Ben. This was like a band-aide and she just needed to rip it off. Before her brain could catch up with what she was doing, she threw her clothes on quickly. She stood up and turned to face Ben. 

 

_ Forgive me _ , she silently pleaded as she swallowed the rising lump in her throat. Against her better judgement, she placed a kiss to his forehead. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

 

She scooped up her flip flops in her hand and tiptoed down the hall, down the stairs, and out of the house. 

 

When she reached her car, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She pounded on the steering wheel as hot tears and a scream escaped from her. This was the right thing to do. Rey had never been more sure of anything in her life. This  _ was  _ the right thing to do. She just left a hot, naked man in bed. This  _ had  _ to be the right thing to do. 

 

This couldn’t be about what Rey wanted. This was for her own good. She told herself. 

 

However, what she couldn’t reconcile was--if this was the right thing to, why the hell did it feel so painful? 

 

The next three days were a blur. Rey simply went through the motions. 

 

Ben had tried calling and texting her, but of course Rey didn’t pick up or respond. Everything would be  _ fine _ . He would be in Australia, on to his next venture, and out of her life soon enough. Rey could then forget about him. 

 

It was better this way. Ben was a nomad, a man with no home. She was being selfish by asking a person like that to stay tethered to her for any length of time. Rey was also cursing her luck that she would fall for a man like that. She kept telling herself this, ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that a man like Ben Solo would be impossible to forget.  

For the most part, Rey was succeeding in her plan (by rationally avoiding anything and everything that would remind her of Ben) to try and forget about him. She didn’t know how long she could sustain this, but it was working for now. 

 

Her resolve finally weakened when she met up with Rose on day three. Rose insisted on watching the new Netflix rom com that had debuted a week earlier. Rey normally loved those types of movies, but she was trying to avoid them. She was torn between not tipping Rose off and wanting to protect herself. 

 

Ultimately keeping up the appearance that everything was fine won out. This proved to be a mistake. Rey managed to keep her cool throughout the whole movie--laughing in all the right places and reacting appropriately during tender moments. Rey was doing just  _ fine _ .

 

Then the big finale came. The man swooped in at the last second, crashing an important event for the woman. After all the misunderstandings, he professed his love--in the most appropriate way for his character. The girl cried and accepted his declaration of love. The ending scenes showed their lives together as a couple, with the girl honoring her man’s late mother’s memory in her new restaurant venture. 

 

This was all too much for Rey. The end credits rolled and she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears that had been bubbling just below the surface boiled over and Rey began to sob. It was far from a dainty, pretty cry that she wrote about. It was ugly, with a wrinkled face, wailing and snot pouring. 

 

“Rey?” Rose looked over at her, thoroughly puzzled. “Are...are you okay?”

 

“Why couldn’t he do that for me?” Rey managed between sobs, pointing at the TV. 

 

Rose still wasn’t following for a second, but picked up quickly. “Ben?” 

 

Rey nodded. Rose moved closer to Rey on the couch and pulled her in for a hug. Rey was grateful Rose didn’t require any more explanation. She just let her ugly cry. 

 

In this moment, a devastating realization hit Rey.  _ This is all my fault _ . All of the alternate paths Rey could have taken in the past few days ran through her mind. If she’d only done  _ this _ or only said  _ that _ . Hindsight was now crystal clear and regret was Rey’s companion. 

 

Rose tried to soothe her, but it wasn’t working. Amidst this self-loathing, Rey heard a knock on her front door. 

 

With a sympathetic smile, Rose stood up. “I’ll get it.” 

 

Rey sniffled and wiped her eyes as Rose walked away. After opening the door, Rey heard Rose conversing with a male voice. It was unmistakeable and clear. Ben. 

 

This had to be some cruel cosmic joke. What was he doing here? Drawn in by some inexplicable force, Rey stood up and moved toward the door. She heard Rose telling Ben that Rey didn’t want to see him and Ben insisting on Rose giving something to her. 

 

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she finally reached the door. 

 

Rose sighed in resignation. “He has something for you.” 

 

“My mom wanted to mail you a mock-up of  _ Romance Bootcamp _ , but I wanted to hand deliver it before I left for the airport,” he said, holding the book out.

 

“T-thanks,” she said, accepting it. 

 

She was rendered speechless as she saw the cover of the novel. Her novel. The faces were cut off, as Ben requested, but it was their bodies nontheless. Her hands were lightly caressing Ben’s shoulders and his arm was wrapped around her back. Rey didn’t remember her toe popping up when she’d adjusted Ben’s jacket on the day of the photoshoot, but the photographer had captured that. 

 

Only moments before, she’d regained her composure, but now this was threatening to ruin everything all over again. They looked good all photoshopped and filtered. They looked like they belonged together. A far cry from the reality that was in front of them. 

 

Rose saw her swallow a lump in her throat and she pushed Rey away from the door. Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke. “Okay, thanks for dropping that off!” 

 

Whatever Ben was going to say in response was cut off by Rose shutting the door in his face. Rey was grateful for her friend’s protection, but she knew this mess was all her own doing. She walked through the entryway back into her kitchen and threw the book on her countertop, cover down. She couldn’t bear to look at it right now. 

 

Before returning to her spot on the couch, Rey poured herself another glass of wine and grabbed the TV remote to search for something else to watch. Rose lingered in the kitchen, looking at the mock up of Rey’s novel. 

 

“Hey, Rey?” Rose called to her. “You might wanna come take a look at this.” 

 

“Take a look at what?” Rey asked, her eyes never straying from the TV. 

 

“He wrote something on the dedication page.” 

 

Curiosity compelled Rey to set her glass and the remote down at that very moment. For some reason she couldn’t wait. She had to see what Ben wrote. 

 

Rose pushed the book over to her once she was in the kitchen. The black script on the dedication page caught her eye immediately. 

 

_ Rey,  _

 

_ I’m glad that our paths crossed as you worked on this project. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to you, I learned that home is not relegated to a single dwelling or place. It’s where your heart is. I now know when I go to Australia, I’m leaving a piece of home here, with you. If you can find it in your heart, guard that home until I come back. _

 

_ Ben _

 

Rey’s hand had flown up to her mouth at some point during reading his note. Ben’s words had shown her what a fool she’d been. She’d written love for fictional characters, but took none for herself. She’d left the warmth of Ben’s bed because she didn’t think she had the right to ask him to wait for her. Yet, he’d looked past her utter stupidity and he’d made a grand gesture.

 

Her brain short-circuited at that realization.  _ He  _ had made a grand gesture for  _ her _ . A grand gesture like the ones she’d written about countless times and secretly dared to hope for. He’d done that for her. Tears threatened to form in her eyes. Rey didn’t think she had any more of those left, given her earlier outburst, but these were happy tears this time. Ben still loved her in spite of her cowardly actions and wanted her to wait for him. He wanted to be together. She didn’t deserve him. 

 

“What’s it say?” Rose asked. 

 

Right. Rose was still here. Rey cleared her throat and pushed the book back over to her. She couldn’t exactly form words at this moment. Ben’s words would have to speak in her absence. 

 

“Oh my god,” Rose said after reading. 

 

Rey let out a laugh. “I know.” 

 

“I take back every murderous thought I had about him a half hour ago,” Rose said, staring at the page. 

 

“Wait. What?” 

 

“Never mind that,” Rose began. “How are you not frantically packing everything you own and on your way to the airport right now?” 

 

“I can’t just…”

 

Rose crossed her arms. “So you’re  _ not  _ going to follow the hot guy who declared his love for you after you left him alone in bed at two am?”

 

“But I don’t have a plane ticket...”

 

“If only there was a piece of plastic that you could use to remedy that situation,” Rose shook a fist at the sky. 

 

Rey rolled her eyes. “I’ll buy the plane ticket. You pack me five outfits and my laptop.”

 

Rose saluted. 

 

“Very funny.” 

 

“You love me,” she shot at Rey as she moved to go upstairs to pack. 

 

Rey walked into the living room and with a shaky hand picked up her phone. She hesitated for a moment as she pulled up a travel website. After writing this scene or seeing it in movies a handful of times, it was rather surreal for Rey to be living it. Her heart thumped in her chest and a woozy feeling washed over her. The weight of what she was about to do was settling in. 

 

Nevertheless, this was what Rey wanted. She pressed forward and purchased her ticket. 

 

Rose made quick work of packing for Rey and the two of them were off to the airport. Toward Ben.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is, kids, the final chapter! Thank you all for coming along on this ride with me and caring about these dumb beans as much as I do. 
> 
> Thank you to JenfysNest for beta'ing this fluff fest and always going the extra mile.

Ben rubbed his eyes and downed the last of his whiskey. After checking in, he’d posted up at the airport bar and told the bartender to keep the overpriced alcohol coming. After one, he’d realized getting shit faced probably wasn’t the best idea before international travel. So, he’d nursed the second glass and kept staring at his phone like his life depended on it. 

 

He didn’t know why he kept checking. She wasn’t going to call. She wasn’t going to magically show up at the airport. She’d left him alone in his bed in the dead of night. Then, like an idiot, he’d professed his feelings in the mock up of her book. He was worse than those stupid men in the romantic comedies he didn’t really like. 

 

He heard the gate attendant announce over the loudspeaker that boarding for his flight was beginning. He threw some cash down on the bar to cover his tab and tip, threw his duffel bag over his shoulder, and headed toward his gate. 

 

He sighed as he waited in line to board, all the while looking around. He didn’t know to what point and purpose. She wasn’t here. 

 

Ben handed the ticket to the gate attendant, boarded the plane and made himself comfortable in the small airplane seat for his long journey. As luck would have it, he’s stuck in a middle seat.

 

He relaxed his head for a few minutes, attempting to get some sleep. As he rested his eyes, the seats on either side of him became occupied and the flight attendants began making their final preparations for takeoff. 

 

Ben thought he’d finally drifted off to sleep when he heard Rey’s voice talking to the gentleman next to him. 

 

“Excuse me, sir, would you mind switching seats with me?” she asked. “They accidentally forgot to sit my boyfriend and I next to each other.” 

 

_ Boyfriend?  _ Now Ben knew for sure he was dreaming. This line of thought continued until he heard the gentleman next to him agree to swap. As he was gathering his stuff, the other guy’s backpack hit Ben in the foot, causing Ben to jolt awake. 

 

Ben was more confused than ever, opening his eyes and seeing that the guy sitting next to him was indeed standing up. He walked away. Then Ben saw her. Rey. 

 

His heart was pounding. _ Is she actually here _ ? As he tried to make sense of all this, she offered him a weak smile and sat down next to him. They regard each other wordlessly for a few beats. 

 

“I got your note,” she said. “Did you mean it?” 

 

“Only if you meant the word ‘boyfriend’ just now,” he said, barely thinking about the words coming out of his mouth. 

 

Rey blushed. “Too soon?” 

 

Ben shook his head and leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him. 

 

“I’m sorry about leaving in the middle of the night,” she said quietly. 

 

Ben sighed, taking her hand. “I’m not gonna lie, it hurt like hell. I woke up and you were gone. I didn’t know if I had done something wrong, or…” 

 

“No, no,” Rey said quickly, cutting him off. “It was all me. I just didn’t think I could ask you to wait for me.” 

 

Ben scoffed. “I thought the same thing.” 

 

Rey’s eyes widened as she let out a laugh of disbelief. “Really?” 

 

Ben nodded.

 

“What changed?” 

 

“The fear of you not being in my life when I got back outweighed my fear of you thinking I was selfish,” he said, flicking his eyes down to the ground. 

 

Rey squeezed his hand. “This would have been so much easier if we’d actually talked about this.” 

 

Ben chuckled. “No kidding.” 

 

At that moment, the flight attendant began the safety demonstration. Rey rested her head on Ben’s shoulder as they listened. 

 

As they pulled away from gate, Rey looked up at Ben. “So what now?” 

 

Ben smirked at Rey and his eyes flicked over to the bathroom. “Well, it’s a long flight and  _ you  _ still need to make up for leaving me alone in bed.” 

 

Rey rolled her eyes and swatted him on the arm. Ben placed a kiss on the crown of her head. Moments later, their plane was taxiing down the runway. Rey snuggled into Ben as best she could in the confines of her seat and they were off to begin a new adventure.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)

**Author's Note:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)


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